Thursday, July 28, 2011

a school bag for Avery

School starts here in 19 days. Can you believe it? It's the price we pay for starting vacation in mid-May I guess. I'm on top of things for once though and managed to make Avery's requested school bag with plenty of time to spare!


Avery originally wanted a tote with a zipper closure on top, but I convinced her to try a messenger style instead. Since we only had a half yard of the Appleville fabric she wanted to use, I put it front and center on the flap. We then decided on a dirt-hiding grey linen for the body of the bag. The flap is lined with Sevenberry school supplies fabric, the lining is a green seersucker, and the straps and outside pocket are Timeless Treasures organic crosshatch. Yummy!


I used this messenger bag tutorial by mmmcrafts but enlarged the length by 5 inches and the width by 2 to allow for more room. I also increased the seam allowances to 1/2 inch because of the fraying nature of the linen. One thing I wish I could change is the floppy nature of the bag. I interfaced it with fusible fleece, but looking back, I should have also added additional interfacing to stiffen things up a bit. I think I'll tack a fabric-covered piece of plastic into the bottom to add structure and experiment with a different interfacing in the future. The pattern itself is very easy to follow, and the bag came together in a single naptime.

Avery loves it too, although you'd never know it from her serious pre-teen expression.

6 comments:

Kelli said...

Too cute! I'm working on a lunch bag for my daughter with a similar shape. But we don't go back for 3 weeks. We're having a disagreement on fabric choices, but since I'm making it, I think I will win. ;)

Michele said...

It turned out so cute. I bet folders and books will shape it nicely and then it's not so stiff if you need to tote soft things.

Anonymous said...

are you guys serious? i remember not going back to school until after labor day at least. one time i was really upset that there was a "get your books and forms signed" type day on the 29th of August, and it was a full week before school started. then again, we went until the end of june...

i <3 messenger bags!

Jan said...

This is so cute. I need to make one for my next trip to NYC. So much better than a backpack purse.

Amy Friend said...

Wow, that's so soon! The bag is very cute and just the fact that she is allowing you to take her picture with it means she likes it at her age!

Kelly said...

that is really the cutest!~ nice blend of big and little girl in that bag :)